Stanley Cup Finals Game 3: Canucks 1 Bruins 8
After winning 4 playoff games in a row and 7 of their last 8, I suppose last night’s game 3 meltdown was inevitable. You never want to lose 8-1 in the Stanley Cup Finals, but if there’s any positive from doing so, it still only counts as 1 loss.
That said, no one is sugarcoating this. The team sagged. The defense was all over the place. The powerplay sucked. Even the Sedins got benched for a powerplay shift. About the only thing the Canucks dominated on is the shot clock, and Tim Thomas had a response for all but 1 of their 41 shots.
Then there’s Aaron Rome’s hit on Nathan Horton, which knocked Horton out of the game. Rome has a disciplinary hearing scheduled for 11 AM today and Horton is thankfully doing well in hospital, but there’s no doubt the Bruins will use this incident as a rallying cry. (More on Rome and Horton in a separate post later.)
The Hero
Tim Thomas. 48 hours after facing criticism for leaving the net and giving up Alex Burrows’ OT game 2-winner, Thomas made 40 saves, many of the sparkling variety.
The Goat
Take your pick. Rome for his hit on Horton, which gave the Bruins an early 5-minute major powerplay, the Sedins for not producing much in the way of offense, Luongo for allowing 8 goals. This was a collective team brain fart, folks.
The Numbers
- 8. The Canucks had ample opportunity to get back in this game. They had 8 powerplays – 15:13 minutes worth – and blew them all. Not only that, but they surrendered 2 shorthanded goals to the Bruins.
- 10%. After clicking at 25% for most of the playoffs, the Canucks’ powerplay is only 1-for-10 in the Stanley Cup Finals.
- 145. The two teams combined for 145 penalty minutes in game 3, including 9 misconducts.
The Next Time
The Canucks need to forget game 3 ever happened. It’s an ass-kicking for sure, but they’re still up 2-1 in the series. Win game 4 and they give themselves a chance to win the Cup at home.
